Upholstered chair



Sept'l 19, .1944. D. RABEACHLEY l UPHOLSTERED CHAIR Filed Sept. l5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l wir- Sept. 19, 1944. D, -R, BEACHLEY I 2,358,437

UPHoLsTERED CHAIR Patented Sept. 19, 1944 "ffUPHQLsfrEREDcHAm j Donovan R. Beachley,` Hagerstown. Md., assignor to Beachley-Reichard` Furniture Co.,l

Inc., .i 'i' Hagerstown, MdwfaY corporation oi?v Maryland y n I Application September 15,1942'5-Seral No.458',3631y Y' f g...

' .f1.claim...'(01,15591-179)y This invention relates tofimprovementsih ulp-l holstered furniture, `such as chairse,davenp`orts' and the like, and' more particularly toiinproveL-l ments in the construction of springbushi'on bottoms and backs for such furniture, asis *ein-Y boded in the present application-- Y Upholstered chairs asf at present constructed usually embody -a deep vspring cushion seat and? back structure which is seteinto the frame of 'thef chairs and covered by aV base fab-ric and suit'- able stuifng or padding and this' filling material is in` turn 'covered by Ysuitable ornamental fabr-icY to provide the desi-rednishfor the chairs.A

Whilethese spring cushion structures take many forms, they-usually embody arrangements of coiled metallic springs, spring Wire frames, or` a'qcombination of the two'which from-the stand-v point of comfort and durability have been generally!satisfactory.` f e l Y AtV the present time; however, the use of metalis -hi'ghlyrestricted and in order to' continue the production vof this'samefgrade of highly desirablev` sprihgcushion upholstered furniture, "recourse must-be made to the'use'ofavailablef'substitutes' whichhas necessitatedchair asa Whole; n 4 y f'Wherever'the term'chai'r is'used herein, it will 'be' understood that other typesof spring cushif ion `upholstered furniture, such as davenports;` 30

etc, are intended to be covered thereby.v

It is recognized that prior to the age of the' more' modern upholstered chair that Wooden slats, many forms, were used inv bedV bottoms asV 'a Ysupport for theY readily removable mat?v tres's,'and that in some instances even in chair bottom'sfbut that *this latter usejldid not becomez highly developed due to the rapid developments then being made in the metallic spring arts were more suitable for. the spring cushion. support V.of .upholstered Achair bottoms and backs,

as; a unitary: structure.l ,.Hene, When Vconfronted with the,V1:,roble,m of'l substituting a material forv reconstruction' of the metal, in thefspring cushion vsupport Vof upholjstered chairs, there is no teaching inthe prior.

artvof suitable and reliable constructions which are equal tof metallic spring. cushions from. the.

standpoint of-.cornfort and durability as-Wellas fromtheist'andpoint of economical manufacture.

the-required cushion depth of upholstery' `sup-#- portias Well as comfort,7durabi1ity=in use`V and-l ease of manufacture heretofore provided'. "by-mes tallic spring construction.- 1 Y Y VAnother -object of the i'nventi'on-` is `tlieprovision of -afWoodenspring slat cushion holstered chairs which is! economical t'or manu-ffacture, highly ecient in use, durable and silent', inaction and which dueto thev mi'nimi'imV bending action required of each Slat element. off assemblyffor a given deflection of the.upholstery@A is Inot subject tofloc'al unevenness and breakage with consequent shifting and-rupturing` ofV the-i stuing and! covering fabric Aof the chair..

A further object oftheA improved. spring kcuslr.` ion upholstery support for upholstered .chairs`- 1. is to prevent the formation ofridges and other:-

unevenness in appearance and use such. as has.

heretofore been' common to upholstered: chairs` employingmany types of metallicspring; con-.f

structions. "f y l A still further-object ofthe invention is the provision of a non-metallic spr-ing cushion strung ture in anupholstered chair which. is: light Weight, simplein construction and which is ca;A` pable of manufacture at relatively lowcost.

For` a` more'ecomplete understanding of.` the nature and objects of 'the-invention, reference: will be had to the folloWingdetailed descrip-'f tions, takenV in connection'with the ,accommnys-4 ing drawings, wherein-l Fig. 1 is a perspective View,` partially' brolrenil away and in section, of a` chair disclosing: the; application ofthe present invention in` accordi- 'anceWith-a preferred embodiment thereof;

'l Fig. 21 i'savertical sectional view. of the illustrated in Fig.' l, the section being.' taken'im a plane intermediate of-and` parallel With the arms vof thechair illustrating the normal: cushion@ support'of the upholstery;V

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section inA a plane gene erally represented byline 3'-3 -in Fig.` 2;v

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional ViewA in a` plane generally represented by line 4---4lv in Fig;Y 2.;1v

Fig. 5 is'an enlarged View of a portion of the structure illustrated in-Fig.. 2-; and,y A f Fig. 6 -is a perspectiveview of' one endl of-,ai- 'spring cushion slat element. M

` Referring now to the'drawings, C designa/tesi an upholstered chair :in its entirety embodying my invention and; whilea-specic form of-A chair is disclosed, it isr to' be understood'from the fore-f going that the presentinvention is-Y not limi-ted thereto but is adapted for' use in upholstered chairsA of various shapes.` f y Y Y The` chairC; therefore; mayY compri-sea rl# other A'structural forms and tangular seat frame I which includes a front rail II, side rails I2, and a rear rail I3, the side and rear rails at their adjacent ends being connected by a pair of upright back supports I4. These Y supports are shown interconnected by upper and which is suitably secured to the adjacent sup- 3,

port I4. n Y

While the parts just enumerated are generally present in the frame construction of all upholstered chairs, each of these parts has been made to cooperate in one way or another with the parts;

now to be described to provide the non-metallic spring cushion upholstery support of the present invention. Y

'I'he present invention,` therefore, pertains to the spring cushion construction in the seat and back of an upholstered chair, and by Way of illus-.- tration the seat construction embodies in its.pre

ferred form the following structure:

,Suitably secured to theinnerpfaces of each of' the4 frontV and rearg-rails II and I3 ofthe seat frame I0 are a plurality of uniformly spaced andv `vertically disposed blocks 2ll to the upper and lower ends of which are secured strips 22 and 23, respectively, therebydefining opposed sets of horizontally spaced vertical recesses 24 which are closed at their upper and lower ends. A plurality of vsets of vertically Vcoacting independently yieldable bowed wood spring slats is freely supported bythe frame I0 and each set is vertically aligned withY andguided by each opposed pair .of re cesses 24, and is independent of adjacent sets.

As illustrated, each set of spring slat members comprisesfan upwardlyl bowed bottom slat member 25,'an intermediate downwardly bowed slat member26 and an upwardly' bowed slat member 21. The slat members v25 and26 may be suitably connected at 28 at the adjacent contacting crowny portions andthe opposite ends of the lower slat members 25 are normally rested freely onthe strips 23 atthe lower ends ofthe recesses 24,v

laterally spaced from the rails II and I3, which formk the bases` of the'recesses 24. The ends of slat member 21 are freelyrestedon the opposed endsv of slat members 26within Vthe guiding andJ spacing slots 424, where theend portions ofthe slat :members 2B and `21 are connedjby the top strips .22* against further Vupward movement.

straightening ofthe slatvmembers upon compression or downwardA deflection oi the upholstery in 60 normaluse. i Y.

In this connection, it will b e noted that due tothe combination and arrangement of freely moving', independently acting bowed slat mem-` bers 25,126 and 21, onlyY partial straightening of each of the slats follows the maximum deflection Y or Idepression of the upholstered seat support between the rails of frame member Ill in (use. By: this construction of spring cushion supporti for upholstered chairs, an extremely deep, softand uniform action is provided with the .minimum Each ment of the ends of the slat members therein, it is to be particularly noted that these end portions of these slat members are squarely supported and laterally braced by the sides of the blocks 2|, as well as by the tensioned base fabric 36 of the upholstered supporting member, to preclude tilting of the individual slat members of the assemblies, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

Further, by the provision of -three oppositely bowed spring slat members in each assembly or unit, as shown, a relatively heavy weight is capable of being sustained in normal fashion by the upholstery supports 38, 31 and 38 by Ithe use Y,of relatively narrow and light weight wooden slat H-members having a relatively highV degree of flexj iibility and resistance to atmospheric changes.

` As a further means of insuring freedom in upholstery support deflection with the minimum of `noise in use, and variance in tension under 2'0' Achanging atmospheric or climatic conditions, the ends ofthe slat members are shown rounded to reduce friction with the end rails II and I3 and;

the entire bodies of the slats are coated or encased in a covering of lacquer or othersmooth and exible moisture resisting material, as Vshown at in Fig. 6. l,

While the foregoing has described the construction andv operation oi `the upholstered spring cushion support-as being the seat, it will be un- 30 Vderstood that the spring cushion back of the upholstered chair may take the same form.

Where less deection but soft action is required, however, a single bow arrangement may be employed such as is illustrated in the accom- 35 panying drawings. In this arrangement, like that previously described, the back spring cushion comprises upper and lower strips 3I and 32 secured` to rails I5 and I6` and provided with horizontally spaced aligned facing recesses 33 0 in which are received the opposite ends of bowed slat members 34. The ends of'these members 34 are normally spaced fromthe bottoms of the recesses-for'expansion or straightening of the slat memberscas is clearly` indicated in Fig. 5, and as was 'describedmore or less generally in connection with' the chair seat.

members 34 are also preferably rounded transto 'reduce friction and resist changes in weather 50. conditions, all as was above described, and illustrated in Fig. -6. While the back Slat member`s,"it is to be understood that the numj ;Y ber and' width of the spring slats in either the @Asishown in Fig. 2, the ends of the slat mem7 bers are al1 normallyspaced from'ther rails I I and, I3 within the slots 24 to provide for expansion or` y seat'or back may be varied to meet requirements in cushion depth and style of the upholstered chairvto be, produced.Y

Various forms and arrangement of padding and base covering fabrics may be applied to the seat and back spring cushion members above de- Yscribed'and'one suitable form is Villustrated in Fig. land Fig. 2. `This form comprises a suitable base fabricV 36 whicherests-directly on and Y slightly compresses the bowed surface of the uppermost series ofslat members 21-34, see Fig.

2... A suitable thickness of padding 31 and then a suitable finishing. or covering fabric 38 are secured over the basefabricbetween the rails of l the seat and backsframes and together provide an upholstered supporting member. 'Thebasc fabricV 33 preferably terminates inV a cushion edgeroll vSiLreSting on theupper edge of the. front raill I, as isillustrated in Fig. 1, to cushion.V` the front edge of the seat frame I0 and also to;

rIfhe ends of these slat` Y members are shown as, wider and fewer in number than the seat slat suitably space the base and covering fabrics for proper cushioning support by the coacting spring cushion members.

From the foregoing disclosure, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides an al1-wood spring cushion and frame construction for upholstered chairs which is highly eicient in operation and durable and which is capable of manufacture at relatively low cost.

I1; is to be further noted that the wood slat members have been constructed and Varranged so that they will readily flex without danger of impairment even after a relatively long period of use, whereby the cushion will not only main..

`tain its shape and effectiveness but there will be little likelihood of breakage with consequent rupture of the padding as well as discomfort to a user.

While I have disclosed but a single specific embodiment of the invention, such is to be con-V sidered as illustrative only, and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being dened in the appended claim. Y Y

bowed Wood slats having their opposite ends free. Y

ly disposed in each two valigned recesses, said pairs of slats being in supporting engagement with the upholstery of the chair, each pair of slats4 being oppositely bowed and having their ends freely slidable relative to each other, and a plurality of additional Wood slats each bowed convexly to one of the rpairs of slats and connected thereto intermediate the ends thereof, said additional Wood slats being supported at their ends on the closed ends of the recesses.

DONOVAN R. BEACHLEY. 

